Book-holder



(No Model.)

S. B. MOODY.

BOOK HOLDER.

No. 553,289. Patented Jan. 21, 1896.

C m y 5 Z 3 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SIDNEY B. MOODY, OF I'IARVVIOI-I, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOOK-HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 553,289, dated January21, 1896.

7 Application filed May 6, 1895- 'Serial No. 548,244. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SIDNEY B. MooDY, of Harwich, in the county ofBarnstable, State of Massachusetts, have made certain new and usefulImprovements in Book Holders or Stands, of which the following is adescription sufficiently full, clear, and exact to enable personsskilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to makeand use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a sideelevation of my improved book-standg Fig. 2, an end elevation of thestand top viewed from line 2 2 in Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 a horizontalsection taken on line 3 3 in Fig. 1.

Like letters and figures of reference indicate corresponding parts inthe different views of the drawings.

My invention relatesespecially to a stand for holding large books, asdictionaries, &c.,

i when opened and clamping them against accidental opening when closed;and it consists in certain novel features hereinafter fully set forthand claimed, the object being to produce a simple, cheap, and effectivedevice of this kind.

The construction and operation are described in the followingexplanation.

In the drawings, A represents the body of the stand, B the binding-restof the holder, and O the holder proper.

The body A comprises four standards constructed each of a single strandof wire I). The four wire ends are assembled at g, and pivotallyconfined by a strap-clamp 7c, tensioned by an ordinary thumb-screw m.From the clamp the wires are radiated horizontally at h, then bentvertically downward, thence inwardly at 1 and vertically downward at jwhere they are again assembled in the vertical line of the ends g, andheld by a strap 1), adjustable by a thumb-screw q. The wires are thencurved downwardly and outwardly at r, and upwardly again, forming feet fand legs (I. The ends of the wires are looped around the portions '2' att. Four legs and laterally-swinging standards are thus formed. Thesestandards are locked when the device is in use by a series of bars w,looped at at around consecutive standards, their opposite ends beingprovided with hooks g, which are adapted to engage in adjacent loops andprevent the standards closing accidentally. A vertical rod 2 is inclosedwithin the clamps between the ends 9 and portionsj of the standards.This rod is extended above the body and is bent diagonally and laterallyto form the inclined rest B for the binding of the book. A

brace-bar connects the vertical portion of the rod .2 with the lower endof the rest B. This brace also acts as a stop for the jaws 16 and 17 ofthe holder proper, C. These jaws are rectangular in side elevation andhave the lower ends of their free edges offset at 21, said jaws beingpivoted at 19 and 20 to the inclined portion of the rod 5, forming thebinding-rest. Said jaws are offset inwardly and longitudinally of theholder, as shown at in Fig. 1, and the offset portions of the companionjaws are connected by pull-springs 18 slightly below the face of therest. Thence these jaws flare downwardly and are offset laterally andinwardly at 31 to their pivots. (See Fig. 2.) When the jaws are thrownopen the oifset portions move downward until the springs 18 are belowthe pivots 19 and 20, when said springs acting contractively, draw theoffsets 31 against the stop-rod 15 and hold the jaws open. (See dottedlines in Fig. 2.) The book is now disposed with its binding or back uponthe rest B, and, when opened, with the free edges of its coversprojecting into the offsets 21. The rod a can be rotated to turn thebook in any desired direction without moving the body of the stand.

hen the book is notin use the jaws can be elevated until the springs 18are above their pivots, which will close said jaws and with them thebook, said book being retained permanently in the jaws, if desired.

The body of the stand can be folded, if necessary, by unhooking the rodsw and swinging the legs and standards I) 011 their pivotclamps, in amanner which will be readily understood by those conversant with suchmatters without a more explicit explanation. The device as thusconstructed is very sim ple of operation, cheap, and readily folded tooccupy small space.

Having thus explained my invention, what I claim is 1. In a book holderthe body comprising the standards, I), and legs, d; the clamppiving-bars for said legs; a vertical rod fitted to rotate in saidclamps; and spring tensioned jaws supported in inclined position on saidrod and adapted to contain the book substantially as described. 7 v

3. In a book-holder the combination of the legs, d, and standards, b,pivoted in clamps k, p, with the locking rods; the rod, 5; the backrest, B, and stops, 15; the pivoted jaws 16 and 17; and thespring, 18,so arranged that When the jaws are opened said spring will drop belowtheir pivots substantially as and for the purpose specified.

SIDNEY B. MOODY. Vitnesses:

JAMES M. MOODY, ALPHoNso L. WEEKS.

